The field of the disclosure relates generally to forming openings through a plurality of components, and, more particularly, to tools and methods for forming openings through a plurality of components with reduced interlaminate burring and debris.
Many structures, such as but not limited to aircraft, include components that are coupled together by fasteners inserted through cooperating openings formed in overlapping portions of the components. At least some such cooperating openings are formed by aligning the components for coupling and forming the openings, such as by drilling, through the successive layers of each component. However, the forming tool, such as a drill, tends to push the layers apart as it moves through the components, resulting in burrs around the openings in the internal layers and/or loose debris between the layers. The components must then be uncoupled to clean up the interlaminate burrs and debris, and re-aligned for insertion of the fasteners, resulting in an increased cycle time and cost for the component join process.
Moreover, while it is known to attempt to clamp the layers of the components together to reduce interlaminate burring and debris during forming of the openings, at least some such known clamping methods are unsatisfactory. For example, at least some known clamping methods rely on a tool coupled to an adjacent opening to apply a reaction force to each opening forming area. However, a large number of time-consuming tool installations are needed to cover each forming area. For another example, at least some known clamping methods rely on a magnetic clamp. However, the use of magnets increases a complexity and expense of the clamping system and provides an insufficient clamping force as a thickness of the components increases.